3 Tips for Golden Retriever Puppy Owners
The Golden Retriever is an amazing dog breed, so it’s no wonder that so many pet owners bring one into their family! Before you bring home your adorable Golden Retriever puppy though, I have a couple tips for you:
Understand the Breed’s History
Understanding a dog breed’s history will help you set your new puppy up for success. So let’s talk about the history of Golden Retrievers!
Golden Retrievers originally hail from Scotland and are an incredibly versatile breed. Historically, Golden Retrievers are a “gundog” breed, meaning they are trained to retriever game for a hunter. However, Golden Retrievers excel at more than just hunting! They are often used for guide dog work, in search and rescue, and enjoy many different dog sports and competitive events.
Golden Retrievers are often characterized as goofy and dumb – and while they may be very silly, they are generally very intelligent! Because Golden Retrievers are smart and are a working breed, most Goldens will thrive when they have a “job” that reflects their drive and genetic tendencies.
Train Your Golden Retriever Puppy
Golden Retrievers will need training to make sure they don’t get into trouble. Like most smart individuals – dog or otherwise – intelligence often comes with a propensity for mischief. Like most puppies, Golden Retrievers need to be taught basic manners that will allow them to be good stewards of the breed.
When you first bring home a Golden Retriever puppy, it’s a good idea to find a reputable training facility nearby that offers a puppy class. A good class will focus on socialization and confidence as well as learning. I would recommend a class that allows your to take your young puppy and does not make you wait until they are 16 weeks or older. While that is ideal for vaccinations, socializing your puppy during the critical socialization period (8 weeks – around 14 weeks) is very important. I recommend a puppy class that focuses on positive reinforcement training. Although balanced training can be useful, I do not believe those tools are necessary or helpful in training a very young puppy.
Give Your Golden Retriever Puppy Appropriate Biological Fulfillment
Biological fulfillment means providing a creature with enrichment opportunities that satisfy its natural tendencies. As we discussed above, Golden Retrievers are bred to retrieve and hunt and are biddable (enjoy training). Retrieving, hunting, and learning are strong biological tendencies that need to be fulfilled for most Golden Retrievers.
The retrieving instinct means that your Golden Retriever puppy will chase after objects and can be easily trained to bring the objects back to you. It also means that Goldens love to have something in their mouths! You can simulate retrieving by playing fetch games with your Golden Retriever puppy. Throw a ball or a stick and teach your puppy how to bring it back to you so that you can throw it again.
You can satisfy a Golden Retriever’s natural mouthiness by providing them safe objects to hold in their mouths. I let my Golden Retriever carry around balls, tug toys, and chews. By giving your puppy some objects that they are allowed to carry, your Golden Retriever will hopefully learn that some objects are not allowed!
Because Golden Retrievers have a hunting instinct, your puppy will probably enjoy playing nosework games that allow them to satisfy the drive to sniff and search for “prey”. Try dividing up your puppy’s dinner into small piles around the room and letting them “hunt” for it by sniffing and finding the food. Puzzles, snuffle mats, and enrichment toys are also a great way to work your puppy’s brain by sniffing for food during meal times.
There are also great nosework games in dog sports! My favorite dog sport is barn hunt, where dogs learn to sniff out rats in an obstacle course made of straw bales. (Don’t worry – the rats are kept safely in tubes and many enjoy the game with the dogs!) Check out this post to learn more about finding a local barn hunt trainer.
Because Golden Retrievers love to learn, don’t forget to train them! Of course you’ll need to do basic manners training, but don’t forget that you can also teach your new puppy tricks. While trick training isn’t “useful” in the sense that these are skills that a dog needs to live a good life, trick training is great mental exercise for your dog’s mind. It also builds confidence, which is always a good thing for your dog!
